


It Makes Thunder

by pleasanthell



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-07
Updated: 2015-02-23
Packaged: 2018-03-06 12:15:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3134138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pleasanthell/pseuds/pleasanthell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“A unity ceremony is a marriage,” Octavia interrupted. She had been silent, standing next to Lincoln like a smaller, stoic compliment to her boyfriend.<br/>Marcus blinked, “A marriage between who?”<br/>“The Commander and someone of equal rank from this clan,” Lincoln stated. “She has to agree to it.”<br/>“A diplomatic marriage?” Abby asked, looking at Marcus. She shook her head. <br/>Raven piped up from her seat at the table, “That’s insane.”<br/>“We don’t have anyone that could do that,” Marcus added.<br/>“We do,” Bellamy nodded. His eyes fell on Clarke. “We have a princess.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Any ideas?” Clarke leaned on the table in what had become the makeshift war room of the Sky People.

Abby crossed her arms and looked to Lincoln who was a large shadow in the back of the room. “Is there anything that we can do?”

“Something to give us unity and peace,” Marcus added, “No one feels safe.”

Lincoln looked at every face in the room before stopping to look at Clarke, “She was here first. This is her land.”

Marcus looked at Lincoln, “There’s got to be enough earth for the rest of us.”

“And we need her help,” Clarke added, reminding the older people in the room about her friends in Mount Weather.

Lincoln scratched the scruffy beard that had started growing when he became part of the Sky People, “Only the Unity Ceremony would guarantee that she would help, but-”

“Let’s do it,” Clarke stood up straight. “Whatever it is…”

“A unity ceremony is a marriage,” Octavia interrupted. She had been silent, standing next to Lincoln like a smaller, stoic compliment to her boyfriend.

Marcus blinked, “A marriage between who?”

“The Commander and someone of equal rank from this clan,” Lincoln stated. “She has to agree to it.”

“A diplomatic marriage?” Abby asked, looking at Marcus. She shook her head.

Raven piped up from her seat at the table, “That’s insane.”

“We don’t have anyone that could do that,” Marcus added.

“We do,” Bellamy nodded. His eyes fell on Clarke. “We have a princess.”

Clarke swallowed. She cleared her throat and then looked at Lincoln, “She would help us save our people in Mount Weather?”

“If she accepts,” Lincoln nodded.

Abby put her hand on Clarke’s shoulder, “You don’t have to do that. We can save them ourselves. Our defenses are strong enough to survive an attack.”

“Maybe one attack, but not more than that,” Clarke shook her head. She licked her lips.

Abby told Clarke that she wasn’t going to have to marry to save them. She called off the meeting so everyone could go off on their own and think of their way to fix their problems.

Lincoln and Octavia were straightening up their tent when Clarke walked in. She didn’t hesitate to ask, “How do we start this unity thing?”

Lexa was looking over a map of the land, placing little pieces on the map to represent the Sky People when one of the guards stepped into her tent, “Commander, Clarke of the Sky People requests an audience.”

Lexa straightened up and cleared her throat. She put on her commander front and moved to the chair that served as her throne, “Granted.” She watched the guard walk out.

Indra walked in first with a very perturbed look on her face. She held the flap of the tent open for Clarke.

Lexa’s mouth dropped open when she saw what Clarke was carrying. Clarke hefted the large deer off of her shoulder so that it fell onto the ground at the foot of Lexa’s perch. Then she took the automatic rifle off of her shoulder and placed it on the ground next to the deer.

“What is this?” Lexa asked, although she knew exactly what was happening.

“Food for your village,” Clarke answered gesturing to the deer and then moved her hand to the gun on the ground, “And my best weapon.” Clarke looked up at Lexa. She shifted her weight suddenly every unsure of her decision to go through with a completely insane plane. She swallowed. She could see Lexa staring straight at her with a blank expression so she went on. A shaky hand went into her pocket and she pulled out a necklace. “And a…” Her voice was considerably lower when she held the necklace out to Lexa, “A gift.” Clarke finally managed to meet Lexa’s eyes when she added, “I made this for you.” She swallowed and built up her bravo again, “I propose a unity ceremony.”

Lexa’s mouth went dry. She knew what was going to happen, but it didn’t really hit her until the word came out of Clarke’s mouth. Lexa inhaled and then exhaled slowly, trying to stay calm like Anya taught her. Lexa leveled her chin, “A unity ceremony is between two equals.”

“I think we are equals,” Clarke answered. She stepped over the deer and moved closer to Lexa. The guard moved to stop Clarke, but Lexa waved them off.

Clarke knelt in front of Lexa and offered her the necklace to Lexa. Lexa looked at the rare gemstone that was said to bring luck to the wearer. It was enclosed in an intricate wire wrapping and hung on a thin chain. She looked at Clarke. Then she looked at Indra as well as a few other curious eyes peeking in.

“This isn’t enough to feed my entire village,” Lexa stated looking at Clarke.

The blonde gestured to the door of the tent, “There are two more deer outside. I didn’t want to get blood in your…house.”

Lexa started to smile, but fought it away. “You know that once a unity ceremony is finished, you belong to me. Mind, body, and soul.”

Clarke nodded, “Just like you belong to me.” She was steady in her words. She knew the consequences of her actions. Lincoln had explained every detail to her. She held Lexa’s eyes when she added, “Infidelity is punishable by banishment.”

Lexa licked her lips. There was something that she admired in Clarke. She had a bravery and a willingness to sacrifice herself for her people that Lexa found rare in outsiders.

Lexa knew that her entire tribe was watching her. If not literally, then they were listening to the whispers flying through the village that they had built a few hills away from Camp Jaha. She knew what a unity ceremony could mean for her people. It would mean peace. It would mean no more invasion and no more killing. There would be harmony and strength for the first time since the Sky People descended from the heavens. She knew that her people knew this as well. She knew what she had to do.

The Commander picked up the necklace and looked it over before putting it over her head, “I accept your proposal for a unity ceremony.”

Clarke was relieved. She inhaled and exhaled slowly, realizing the gravity of what just happened. She swallowed and nodded to Lexa. “Thank you.”

Lexa looked to Indra, “Prepare for the ceremony.”

Indra nodded and walked out of the tent leaving the flap to flutter closed behind herself.

Lexa stood up and took Clarke’s hands, helping her to her feet, “I hope you know what you are getting yourself into Sky Princess.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Have you lost your mind?” Abby asked Clarke.

Clarke was laying back in a chair, letting Raven and Octavia braid her hair for the ceremony. Lincoln was sitting on the ground sewing together a few animal pelts to make the ceremonial cape.

“I know what I’m doing,” Clarke stated. She closed her eyes and calmed her nerves. She was pretty sure she knew what she was doing.

Abby walked to her daughter and knelt before her, resting her hands on her knees, “I know you know what you’re doing, but you have to know that there are alternatives.”

“There isn’t, though,” Clarke opened her eyes and looked at her mother.

“It could be worse,” Raven shrugged, finishing off the braid, “The Commander is cute.”

Abby rubbed her eyes, “This isn’t something that you can bail out of.”

“I’m not going to bail out,” Clarke answered evenly even as her mind raced through all of the things that could go wrong with her plan. She thought of all the things that would be expected from her. She thought of all the things that she was going to have to do to keep up her side of the unity…thing.

Lincoln stood up with the cape. When Clarke looked at him, he held it open so that she could put it on. The blonde stood and turned her back to Lincoln. He draped the cape on her shoulders. Clarke wriggled her shoulders to get it on properly and then turned to Lincoln, “Thank you.”

He gave her a hint of a smile, “It is a brave thing you’re doing.”

“Do you think that they’ll let you back into your village after the ceremony is over and we’re a united community?” Clarke asked him.

He took a deep breath, “We shall see.”

“Well,” Clarke put her hand on his arm, “I’ll be like the co-commander. I’ll make them let you in.”

A full smile graced his face, “Thank you.”

“We’ll have peace and we’ll rescue our people from Mount Weather,” Clarke addressed the whole group, “We’ll rehabilitate all the reapers we can catch. We’ll return the people the Mountain Men took to the grounders.” She nodded, reaffirming her own conviction. “There will be peace. With our joint resources, we will create a productive society because we won’t have to worry about war.”

A horn sounded, announcing the start of the ceremony.

Clarke looked at her mother and stated, “It’s time.”

“There’s no changing your mind is there?” Abby asked, trying to reconcile what her daughter was about to do with what she thought she should do.

Clarke shook her head. “This is what I want to do.” She held out her hand to her mom, “Will you walk me?”

Abby hesitated only for a second. She walked over to Clarke and took her hand. “This I definitely not how I pictured your wedding.”

Clarke smiled, “I never pictured a wedding at all so this is a surprise to me too.”

Lexa was waiting confidently on a hill between the two camps. Indra was standing behind her with a deep frown obviously silently objecting to the unity ceremony.

Clarke held Lexa’s eyes as she moved to the Commander. Both the Grounders and the Sky People gathered behind their respective representatives in the Unity ceremony. Clarke walked through her own people, many of whom were thanking and congratulating her. Word had traveled quickly about what the ceremony would mean and any inkling of peace that was offered to them, they latched on to.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Bellamy trotted to catch up with Clarke.

Clarke rolled her eyes, “I wish everyone would stop asking me that.”

Bellamy fell back into the crowd and just watched Clarke walk to meet the Commander.

When they were within speaking distance, Abby let go of Clarke’s hand. She stepped in front of Clarke and looked directly at the Commander. Indra started to move forward seeing Abby as a threat, but Lexa stopped her. She held Abby’s eyes, waiting for whatever she was going to say.

“If you hurt my daughter, the reapers will the least of your worries,” Abby growled.

Lexa nodded. “I understand.”

Abby blinked. That is not what she expected. She expected more of an arrogant resistance. Lexa just accepted the threat. Finally Abby took a step back. She put her hand on Clarke’s arm, giving her a _last chance_ look.

Clarke just hugged her mom and stepped up in front of Lexa. She asked, “Are you sure about this?”

Clarke saw Lexa’s eyes waiver while the rest of her answered with a firm confidence. Lexa nodded, “Of course.” She extracted her knife from her belt and held the blade, offering the handle to Clarke.

The Princess of the Sky People took the handled of the blade and looked it over. It was beautiful, hand carved and decorated with leather and a clear stone in the handle. “It’s beautiful.”

“My best weapon,” Lexa stated.

Clarke ran her thumb over the gem in the handle and nodded, “Thank you.”

Indra started saying some things that Clarke didn’t understand. Octavia stood respectfully by and quietly translated into English. It was about unity and the joining together of clans. Marcus took a turn to say a few words of basically the same realm of unity.

Then Indra asked Lexa if she accepted the unity ceremony, the terms, and everything that came with being bonded to Clarke for life. Lexa nodded, holding Clarke’s eyes.

Indra asked the same of Clarke. For a moment Clarke hesitated. She looked into Lexa’s eyes and wondered if she was doing the right thing. But then she saw the vulnerability in Lexa’s eyes that no one else ever seemed to see. She saw the hope that was laid around the uncertainty.

Clarke nodded, “I do.”

Indra handed Lexa a small bowl with a liquid in it. After she took a drink, she handed it to Clarke. Clarke didn’t hesitate. She brought the bowl to her lips and drank. It tasted like a more refined version of Monty’s homebrew. Clarke licked her lips when she saw done and smiled. “That’s good.”

Lexa let out a smile and nodded. She offered her hand to Clarke. Clarke immediately took it. Lexa looked behind herself at her people. She held up Clarke’s hand and called to her people in her language.

“Your new Commander,” Octavia translated.

The grounders cheered and roared loudly in celebration.

Clarke gently twirled Lexa around and presented her to the Sky People. “Your new Counsel Member and unofficial Princess.”

Lexa grinned as the Sky People cheered for her as well. Her eyes fell to her new mother-in-law who was clapping with a hint of a smile on her face.

Lexa called to some of her people and they marched forward with roast boars hanging from a stick over their shoulders. Lexa gently squeezed Clarke’s hand and added to her quietly, “Food for your people.”

Clarke pivoted on her toe and hugged Lexa. “Thank you for saying yes.”

Lexa put her hands on Clarke’s back really not used to that kind of affection. “It was the right thing for my people.”

Clarke took a step back and took Lexa’s hands running her thumbs over Lexa’s rough knuckles, “It’s the right thing for our people.”

“Our people,” Lexa echoed. She nodded slowly and watched her people approach the Sky People with the food. She watched them help each other with the weight of the boars and saw them share the food. She took a deep breath, knowing that she did the right thing, “Our people.”


	3. Chapter 3

They had spent the first few days of their ceremonial marriage in Camp Jaha. They got their own tent, but slept on opposite sides of the large bed. The material of the tent kept them warm at night without much effort.

At breakfast one day, Clarke looked out at Lexa’s peoples’ camp. “Why don’t be build a house in the middle of the camps? It still feels like there’s a barrier between them.”

Lexa thought it over and nodded before eating a berry. “I’ll have my men build a shelter-”

“No,” Clarke shook her head, “We should build it. You and me. Make a permanent testament to unity.”

“I told you she was going to be demanding,” Bellamy sat down at Clarke and Lexa’s table with an apple.

Lexa nodded. “I should have heeded your warning.” She looked at Clarke to see if she caught the joke. Clarke smiled and exaggeratedly rolled her eyes.

Clarke scratched the back of her neck, “Whatever. I’m going to go into the forest today and see if I can find a fallen tree or something to make into an axe so we can cut one down. It’ll be a great house.”

“Do you even know how to build a house?” Raven walked over and sat down.

“I’ll figure it out,” Clarke smiled and looked at Lexa. “I’m sure Lexa knows how.”

Lexa nodded. “I do.”

“See?” Clarke gestured to her unity wife, “We’ve got this.”

“I have to go meet with the leaders of some of the villages that are smaller and far away,” Lexa told Clarke, “I would like you to join me.”

Clarke nodded. She knew what being the new co-commander meant more duties like having meetings. “Can I bring a translator?”

“I shall translate for you,” Lexa touched Clarke’s arm. She stood up, “We’ll have the meeting when you return from the forest.”

The blonde nodded, “Okay. Great.”

“This is so weird,” Raven watched Lexa greet Abby before walking toward the grounder camp.

“It’s not really,” Clarke shrugged and moved the berries that Lexa didn’t eat in front of herself. “Do you want to go into the woods with me?”

Raven shrugged, “I don’t have anything better to do.”

“I’ll come with you,” Bellamy offered, He smiled, “You’ll probably need help dragging your tree back to build your house.”

“This is going to be great,” Clarke promised him. “I want to join the two camps together.”

“This Unity stuff is going to your head,” Bellamy knocked on the side of Clarke’s head.

Clarke ducked the knock and stood up, “I’m serious. Then we’ll get Jasper and Monty and everyone else out of Mount Weather. We don’t have much time. Lexa is going over an assault strategy to go in. You should probably go to that. Find Lincoln. He drew a map from what I told him.” Clarke called Marcus over as he was walking out of the camp for the meeting. Clarke told Bellamy that Marcus was going to the meeting so go with him.

Then she, Raven, Octavia, and Abby made their way into the woods. Raven had a makeshift axe over her shoulder made out of parts from the fallen Ark and a branch. “So are you two just going to start a city in between the camps?”

“Isn’t that the point of Unity?” Clarke asked, “The bridging of camps so that we’re one?” She kicked a stick.

“I think it’s really cool what you did,” Octavia added, scanning the forest around them, “Lincoln can go visit his friends again.”

“How is married life?” Abby asked, putting her arm around her daughter.

“It’s not bad,” Clarke smiled. “Actually a lot better than I expected. Lexa is really smart.”

“I heard you two talking last night when I went to check on the fence,” Raven added, stepping up onto a root and then hopped back down.

“We were talking about what we want to do for our people,” Clarke confessed. “She really cares about her people. She designed some reaper traps that are hopefully going to catch some reapers so we can rehab them and get them back to their families.”

“You have a lot of plans,” Abby commented. She kissed her daughter’s head, “I’m proud of you.”

“This is the society you raised us to want,” the blonde leaned into her mom, “A life of peace on the ground.”

“Well your means are…terrifying,” Abby rubbed Clarke’s back, “But I support you.”

=+==+=+=+

Lexa had started leveling the ground between the two camps for hers and Clarke’s house. She was using a shovel that she borrowed from the Sky People and a log with ropes on each end to level the loose dirt.

“Do you need help, Commander?” a voice asked.

Lexa looked up and saw Lincoln standing outside of the perimeter that she’d dug for the walls. She shook her head, “Clarke wants us to build our house ourselves.”

Lincoln nodded. “If you need any help…”

“Actually,” Lexa stopped him from walking away. “You are coupled with the girl, Octavia?”

Lincoln put his hands behind his back and nodded, “Yes, commander.”

“How would you like to be part of the unity settlement?” Lexa wiped some sweat from her brow. She hadn’t worked that hard in a while. Being Commander usually meant having people do her dirty work for her, but Clarke wanted them to do it. To show their people that they weren’t afraid to get their hands dirty on the quest or a more stable settlement.

Lincoln cleared his throat. “I would be honored Commander.”

Lexa picked up an extra shovel that she got for Clarke and tossed it to Lincoln, “Pick out your spot.”

They dug and flattened for hours until they both had flat places to build their houses. Their plots started to attract attention of the other people who wanted to build their own houses. Indra suggested that they make sure there were roads so Lexa put her in charge of planning the new join community.

Then Lexa went back to hers and Clarke’s tent at Camp Jaha. She was looking for a different shirt to change into. She picked up one of Clarke’s shirts and pulled it on over her shoulders. She knocked over Clarke’s hiking backpack. Lexa picked it up and threw it next to the bed. She needed to get back to the new unity community to make sure everything was running smoothly.

Clarke had certainly changed what being a Commander meant. She was no longer just a leader in times of war. She was a leader in her community. She was helping to build and foster a sense of oneness. When they weren’t constantly on the offensive and defensive, they could relax and start to build their legacy.

Lexa smiled to herself alone in the tent. It seemed that she owed Clarke a lot more than she would have admitted a few days ago.

The horns blared ripping Lexa out of her pleasant reflection.

She ran out of the tent to make sure everyone got inside before the acid fog hit. However when she stepped out of the tent, she jumped back into it. She grabbed Clarke’s backpack and pulled open the zipper. She dug through the inside and found Clarke’s acid tent.

She jammed the tent back into the backpack and threw it over her shoulder as she ran. She swiftly moved through the panicked people of Camp Jaha. She ran toward Indra yelling orders. It only took a moment for someone to fetch her horse. The horse didn’t even stop moving when Lexa mounted it and rode off into the forest.

She followed the trail that she was sure Clarke and her party took. Lexa leaned forward and urged her horse faster. The acid fog always moved from Mount Weather so she was heading straight for it, but she had to make sure Clarke was okay.

She found the women running away from the fog toward the camp with an injury. The mechanic that Lexa liked for her wit was being helped by Octavia and Clarke. The brace that was usually around her leg was broken and hanging off of her calf.

Lexa turned her horse away from the fog that was quickly approaching. She dismounted the horse and told Octavia to get on it. Octavia had been told enough about Lexa not to argue. Then Lexa helped Raven on behind her. Finally Lexa helped Abby up before Abby could protest. Lexa said something to Octavia in trigedasleng and slapped the back of the horse sending it running.

Clarke looked behind them and saw the acid fog quickly approaching. Lexa started running, but Clarke grabbed onto her backpack to stop Lexa. She yanked it open and immediately grabbed her tent. Lexa helped her set it up, pulling the base flat so that the top would pop up, and they jumped into the tent at the last second as the acid fog washed over them.

Clarke checked for leaks in the tent before she was satisfied that they were safe.

“Clarke!” Bellamy’s yell erupted from the backpack.

The blonde scrambled to get to her backpack and pulled out her walkie-talkie. She put it to her mouth, “We’re fine, Bellamy. Everyone else make it back in time?”

“Yeah,” Bellamy answered, “But, uh, we’re stuck in the Ark with a horse.”

Clarke’s eyes shot to Lexa and they shared a smile. Clarke told Bellamy that she would contact them when the fog was gone.

When she had put the walkie back into her backpack. She let out a relaxed sigh, “Thanks for coming to save us.”

Lexa sat up straight, trying to hold an expressionless face, “We’re coupled. There cannot be one without the other.”

Clarke knew that it would have been just as easy to leave her out in the forest to die and rule both the Grounders and the Sky People. She knew that Lexa was starting to warm up to her and she was thankful for it.

“How did the reaper traps come along?” Clarke asked, knowing that they were going to be stuck in the fog for a while and they might as well go over plans.

“Well,” Lexa nodded. “I had a team construct them to my specification at different locations through the forest. They’re all marked so that our people don’t fall into them.”

“Great,” Clarke looked Lexa over and saw dirt on her arms. She also saw that Lexa was wearing one of her shirts. She didn’t comment on her shirt. She just asked how Lexa got so dirty.

Lexa proudly told Clarke that the area for her house had already been cleared and they could begin construction as soon as Clarke brought back the tree. Clarke got excited and started telling Lexa all about the tree that she had cut down, but had to abandon when the fog came. Lexa wasn’t sure what Clarke thought she was going to do with such a large tree, but she was happy that Clarke was excited.

Clarke could see that Lexa was physically exhausted so she took off her jacket and stuffed it into her backpack before pushing it to Lexa. The Commander only took it after Clarke insisted. When she laid back on it, she let her body relax knowing that there was nowhere to go for a while.

“What do you require in a dwelling, Sky Princess?” Lexa asked stretching her back.

Clarke shrugged, “I’d be okay with one room. We don’t spend a lot of time inside.”

Lexa nodded in approval. She added something offhandedly about how their house couldn’t get too big because Lincoln and Octavia’s house would be next door.

“What do you mean?” Clarke asked pulling her knees to her chest.

Lexa rolled onto her side to face Clarke. “The people want to join us in the middle, on the hill between the camps.”

Clarke wasn’t sure why she got so emotional over that statement, but she was so happy that everyone was starting to accept each other and live symbiotically. It was everything she set out to do.

Except for one thing. Clarke laid out straight and propped her head up with her forearm, “How did that assault plan go?”

“We cannot assault their fortress,” Lexa closed her eyes and relaxed. Although as a Commander, she never really truly relaxed, “No with any kind of large force.”

“What do you mean?” Clarke’s voice raised in pitch, “That was part of the plan all along.”

Lexa opened her eyes and looked at Clarke, “It will take a much smaller force to free our people.”

“Oh,” Clarke looked down at the tent floor under her. “Sorry. I’ve just been thinking about them a lot.” Clarke laid on her back. She could see that thick fog still over them, dimming the light from the setting sun. “I just thought we’d have them by now.”

“The Mountain Men are not an enemy that we can underestimate,” Lexa turned her head toward Clarke, “They have my people too. As leaders it is our duty to take action, but it must be responsible. We have to plan.”

“What do you think we should do?” Clarke asked, “So far.”

“I believe the best way into Mount Weather is the way that you escaped,” Lexa offered. She turned her face to the roof of the tent. “We can take a large team with us. And extraction team and three rescue teams. One rescue team for the reapers. They’ll be taken to your drop ship for rehabilitation. Another extraction team for my people. A last extraction team for your people.”

“Can we do this without killing everyone in Mount Weather?” Clarke asked, “Even the smallest exposure to radiation can kill them.”

“They’re barbarians who deserve the death that will be given to them,” Lexa stated with finality. “They have killed hundreds of my people. You said it yourself. They are the reason for the acid fog around us right now. They’re still trying to kill us. Blood for blood. They must answer for what they have done.”

“They’re trying to survive,” Clarke plead with Lexa, “Just like us.”

Lexa sat up and looked at Clarke. They was fire her eyes when she angrily told her Unity partner, “They are nothing like us. They have taken my people to experiment on and use to heal themselves. They discarded the bodies of my people to feed the monsters that they have made. Those monsters are _my_ _people._ ”

“They’re my people too,” Clarke spoke up wanting Lexa to understand that she really did care for the Grounders.

“You have killed for your people,” Lexa narrowed her eyes at Clarke, “You have killed hundreds of my clan for your people. If you have really adopted my people as your own, you would not hesitate to kill for them like you did for your own.”

Clarke’s mouth went dry. She swallowed and took in the words that Lexa had given her. Lexa was only partially right. Clarke would kill for her people, but only if they were in mortal danger. But she could see Lexa’s point. They had to treat each other’s people like their own. And Lexa was going to lead a team to rescue the rest of Clarke’s friends.

“My people used to kill as punishment,” Clarke laid back down facing Lexa. “In space, when someone would do the smallest thing wrong, they would be released into space. They would die immediately.” She saw Lexa looked at her and hold her eyes. She could see that Lexa was listening to what she was saying, “When we got down here, we had a chance to change that. Sometimes good people do bad things. I’m not proud of everything I’ve done since I’ve been here. And I’ve learned so much. I trust your people now. All of them. Even the ones that really don’t like me. I trust them all because I trust you and that is something that I’m really glad that I learned.” Clarke took Lexa’s hand, “I don’t want to kill people who are trying to survive. I promise you that most of the people in Mount Weather had no idea what the president and the doctors are doing.” Clarke’s eyes left Lexa’s, “I hope that the people are not judged by the actions of their leaders.”

Lexa searched Clarke’s face looking for an angle. All she found was earnestness and compassion. It was really foreign to her. She clenched her jaw and then answered, “People are judged by the actions of their leaders because the people allow the leaders to act the way that they do.”

Clarke sighed softly, “You’re right. But…”

“We shall see how the Mountain Men are dealt with after we consult our counsels,” Lexa stretched her back and gently squeezed Clarke’s hand in reassurance. “I suggest you rest now because it is a long walk to the camp, especially if we are dragging a tree behind us.”

Clarke rolled onto her back and looked at the ceiling. She didn’t let go of Lexa’s hand though. “Do you think it’s over?”

Lexa shook her head. She saw Clarke make herself smaller trying to conserve her heat. She sat up, letting go of Clark’s hand. She took Clarke’s coat out of the backpack and gave it back to her. Clarke put it on and looked at Lexa, “Aren’t you cold?”

Lexa was only wearing one of Clarke’s shirts. She didn’t have a jacket because she had left Camp Jaha so quickly that she didn’t even think to get a jacket. Lexa just shrugged and folded the backpack over on itself to make up for the lost padding. Then she laid down again.

“C’mere,” Clarke knew that Lexa was too stubborn to admit when she was cold. She opened her arms to Lexa. It only took a small amount of prodding for Lexa to scoot into Clarke’s arms. Clarke’s head rested on Lexa’s collar and Lexa put her arms around Clarke, laying back on the backpack.

They were both a lot warmer that way. A pleasant silence settled around them as they listened to the quiet in the middle of the forest.

Lexa was about to fall asleep when the walkie talkie crackled under her head. “Clarke. You there?”

Clarke sat up slowly and offered Lexa an apologetic smile, “Sorry.” She waited for Lexa to move so she could get the radio out.

Clarke put the radio to her mouth, “Yeah. I’m here. What’s up?”

“The fog is gone,” Bellamy answered, “Where are you?”

“We’re about to head out. We have to break down the tent and get the tree,” Clarke looked at Lexa with an amused look. Apparently they were so calm and relaxed that they didn’t notice the fog leave.

Lexa opened the door to the tent and stepped out. She looked around. It was almost completely dark in the forest, but she knew exactly where they were. She turned to help Clarke out of the tent as Clarke explained to her friend that they didn’t need anyone to come find them. They’d be back in a few minutes.


	4. Chapter 4

“They should have been back by now,” Bellamy lurked near the edge of the forest.

Raven stood next to him. “I’m sure they’re fine.” Although she was looking just as hard into the forest as Bellamy trying to see find them. Raven looked over at Abby who was leaning on the remnants of the electric fence. Abby was just as worried.

Movement in the forest caught Bellamy’s ear. He pulled his gun to his chest and looked into the darkness. A small light made an appearance. Then he heard words, “I read it on the Ark. It was a story about a submarine.”

“A submarine?” Lexa asked.

“An underwater ship,” Clarke answered.

Lexa switched the torch from one hand to another and then adjusted the rope over her shoulder. “That sounds uncomfortable.”

Clarke looked up at saw Bellamy looking at them. She smiled, “I bet it’s a lot like being on an ark in space.”

Bellamy and Raven walked out into the forest to help them pull in the tree in. As they got closer to the camp the light illuminated what was tied to the tree. There was an unconscious reaper tied to the tree as well as a stack of books nestled in the tree.

“Where did you find those books?” Raven asked, helping them push the tree up their hill. Lexa was already yelling orders.

“I’m more interested where you got the reaper,” Bellamy kept a sharp eye on the unconscious drug addled monster.

Clarke dropped the rope on the ground on the flat plot of land that Lexa had cultivated. She saw that Octavia and Lincoln had a plot adjacent to them and a few other people decided to move out between the camps. “We found what was left of a library. It’s pretty much just a hole in the ground now. There was a reaper inside. He looked like he got stuck in there. Lexa knocked him out. I figured he could be patient number two in the reaper rehab program.”

A few grounder untied the reaper and tied him to a much smaller log. Abby walked over and asked what they were doing with him. Lexa explained that they were taking him to the drop ship. They were going to tie him up and she could visit him in the morning.

Lexa stretched her back and turned to Clarke, “I’m going to go talk with Indra. Where would you like to sleep tonight?”

“Your camp is fine,” Clarke answered with a smile. She stepped up to Lexa and gave her a hug, “I’ll be over in a few minutes. I’m going to put the books up and grab my clothes.”

Lexa returned the hug with a slight smile. She took a step back and turned to the grounder camp. Although it didn’t seem to be just a grounder camp anymore. It looked like there was a healthy mix of Sky People among her people. She didn’t think it would happen this quickly, but it was a nice surprise how quickly her people welcomed the Sky People and visa versa.

After looking over Indra’s plans for the middle settlement, Lexa told her that she did well and sent her off to have some leisure time.

Lexa walked around her dwelling and saw a few things that could be cleaned up before Clarke arrived. She wanted Clarke to like it and be comfortable.

Lexa made the bed with all the bed blankets and furs that she had and made sure there was enough padding. Then she reorganized her weapons and straightened up the table that contained her private maps and diagrams. It was there she was planning the assault on the Mountain Men’s stronghold.

Clarke moved the canvas that hung over the door out of the way and stepped inside as Lexa was finishing straightening her maps. She smiled when she saw Lexa. She looked around and put her backpack down, “I never got a chance to look around before. It’s nice.”

“The bed is over here,” Lexa walked to the side of her tent and pulled back another canvas revealing a smaller room with a stack of blankets and padding on the ground. “It’s easier to keep the small space warm.”

“Good idea,” Clarke looked down at her feet, “Should I take off my boots before I come inside more.”

“If you want,” Lexa shrugged. “It’s not…as clean as your place.”

Clarke took off her shoes next to the door, “I like it here. It’s cozy and definitely more private. We won’t have to listen to Bellamy snore all night.”

Lexa smiled and sat down at her map table. “Would you like something to eat?”

“I ate with my mom,” Clarke answered and sat down on the chair across from Lexa. She looked over at Lexa, “Thanks again for coming after us and saving me and my mom and my friends.”

“You are my other now,” Lexa offhandedly picked up a map and started folding it, “It is my duty to protect you.”

Clarke nodded. “I’d do the same for you.” She looked at the maps on the table, “What are these?”

“Maps of the area,” the Commander stated. She turned some toward Clarke, “This one was drawn by one of my people.” She pulled one out from under the rest. “We found this one.”

Clarke accepted the folded map and read the front of it. “National Mall.” She gently opened up the fragile paper and saw what the land around them used to be. “Wow.” She looked at all the building and monuments that had fallen. It blew her mind what was all around them. There was a circle on the edge of the western part of the map with words in a language she didn’t know. “What’s this?” She turned the map toward Lexa.

“Mountain Men,” Lexa stated. She pointed to the map. “We’re here.”

Clarke looked over the map, “So this is the library that we found.” She pointed to a place on the map that said _Library of Congress_. Clarke exhaled, “Whoa, that place is way bigger than we saw. Before the attacks anyway.”

“No telling how many reapers are in there,” Lexa stood up. She picked up a canteen off of the table and opened it for a drink. When she was done she offered it to Clarke.

Clarke took it and paused before taking a sip. “How many reapers do you think there are? Do you think they’re all your people?”

Lexa leaned back in her chair, “I don’t know. I know there are other people out there – other survivors. The Mountain Men could be capturing entire clans and turning them into reapers. That’s what Anya thought anyway.” Lexa turned the map back toward Clarke and stood, walking to her weapons table.

“I’m sure she was right,” Clarke swallowed watching Lexa’s mood go downhill with the mention of her predecessor. Clarke scratched the back of her neck and watched Lexa pick up a knife and a sharpening stone. “I didn’t know her for very long, but I know she valued bravery. She would have been very proud of you.”

Lexa stopped her movements. She took a moment to regain her composure before turning back to the map table and sitting down. She didn’t say anything. She just started sharpening her knife.

Clarke knew that she wasn’t going to get Lexa to speak about Anya so she took another sip of the water and then stood. “I’m going to bed.”

“I’ll join you,” Lexa stated. She put her knife on the map table and followed Clarke to the bed nook. She held open the tarp for Clarke and then picked up her lantern. She stepped into the bed room and then made sure Clarke was comfortable before extinguishing the light.

It was colder in Lexa’s bed than in Clarke’s. They gravitated together in their sleep for warmth until Clarke put her arm around Lexa trying to keep both of them warm.

Lexa was awakened by a rustling next to her. Her hand went to the knife under the bed. She had the handled in her hand before she realized that the rustling was Clarke. A small whimper came from the blonde as she moved in a rocking motion on the bed.

Then a scream emitted from Clarke. She lunged at the only body near her and put her hands around Lexa’s throat. Lexa rolled both of them onto the floor and pinned Clarke under her, her knife abandoned.

Clarke could barely see Lexa over her, pinning her hands over her head. She breathed heavily and realized that her dream was not reality. Finn was not mindlessly shooting everyone in Camp Jaha. She didn’t have to save anyone.

Lexa held Clarke down until she saw tears slip down the blonde’s face. Lexa sat up and sat on the bed, looking down at Clarke.

“I’m sorry,” Clarke wiped her eyes and stood up. She moved to her side of the bed and sat down.

“Commander?” a strong voice came from the door of their dwelling.

Lexa told the guard that she was fine and laid back down. Clarke laid down as well, as far away from Lexa as possible. They were both quiet for a moment before Lexa asked, “Are you okay?”

Clarke nodded. “Yeah. I’m fine. Just a nightmare.”

Lexa wasn’t sure what else to say. She wasn’t really the comforting type. She wasn’t raised to be delicate with emotions. She was good with deception and brutality. Feelings were an extraneous burden. She finally resigned herself to sleep, tucking her knife back under the bed.

Clarke laid awake for a few minutes trying to erase the dream from memory. She closed her eyes and rolled onto her side. It was apparent that Lexa was asleep. She sighed softly and closed her eyes.

When she woke up again, her found her movement constricted. She opened her eyes and trying not to panic while she assessed the situation. She found that Lexa’s arm was around her, holding her in the middle of the bed.

Clarke smiled. Lexa might not have been good with feelings, but she was trying. Clarke felt well rested despite waking up in the middle of the night.

She ducked her head and closed her eyes burrowing farther into Lexa who was starting to feel like a warm blanket all on her own.

Lexa was awake and knew that Clarke was awake as well. She asked, “Can your mechanic build a fence around our camp?”

“I’m sure,” Clarke didn’t move from her place in Lexa’s arms. “We’d have to go to the other parts of the Ark for materials though.”

Lexa hummed in thought. She adjusted her head on the pillow, tucking Clarke’s head under her chin. It was nice laying like that with another person, warm and safe. She had never had an experience like that before. She took a deep breath, “I would like to accompany your mother to check on the reaper we caught last night.”

Clarke nodded, “Me too.” She scooted away from Lexa so that she could look at the Commander’s face. “Did you sleep okay…after I…my nightmare?”

Lexa nodded and sat up. She brushed off Clarke’s nightmare and rose out of the bed, ready to start the day.


	5. Chapter 5

Lexa insisted that they ride horses to the drop ship. The time of the leaders was valuable and three of them being gone at once was a lot of time not spent making decisions and plans.

“How did you sleep?” Abby asked, looking over at her daughter who was riding next to her.

Clarke nodded. “Fine.” She tried to figure out what her mother was getting at. She wasn’t usually one to ask her how she slept unless she thought something else happened at night. Even if she did sneak out, there was no reason for her mom to suspect it because she was at the adjacent camp. There wasn’t really anything for her to do anyway. She didn’t have to sneak out anymore. Everything that she was doing was automatically sanctioned because she was the co-commander and de facto council member. She could leave whenever she wanted and take anyone she wanted with her.

Abby caught Clarke’s eyes and pointed to Lexa with her eyes. The Commander was scanning the area around them, not paying attention to the women behind her.

Clarke finally got what her mom was talking about. “Just sleep, Mom.” She smiled and looked away amused at her mom’s veiled accusation.

“Were you warm enough?” Abby asked, looking up at the trees, “It’s getting colder.”

“Very warm,” Clarke answered with a hint of a smile.

Abby narrowed her eyes at her daughter and saw a smile. She rolled her eyes. “You’re insufferable you know that?”

Clarke just grinned.

Lexa was listening to the conversation and smiled to herself as they rode. She looked to the drop ship. She could hear struggling from inside. Two guards were sitting outside, warming up in front of the fire. They immediately stood when they saw Lexa coming.

The second she dismounted one of the guards took the reins of her horse. The other guard collected Clarke and Abby’s horses.

“How is he?” Abby asked, gesturing to the drop ship.

“He screamed all night,” one of the guards answered.

Lexa looked at the drop ship. She elected to go inside with Clarke and her mother. Lexa went up the ladder first and found one of her people, one of the reapers, tied up. He thrashed and yanked at his chains trying to get at Lexa. She looked at him as close as she could. She recognized him from another clan.

Abby took care of the reapers wounds as well as she could from a distance. He lunged once and almost snagging Abby, but Lexa grabbed the back of her jacket and yanked her backwards. Abby stumbled, but was uninjured.

When they were finished, they made their way back to the camp on the horses. It was quick and the three of them parted ways at the camp.

Lexa found Clarke a few hours later at the site of their new home, using a machete to scrape the bark off of the tree they hauled in together. She was talking with her friends about the best way into Mount Weather.

She watched Clarke for a moment, memorizing her face and the way that she moved. Clarke swung the machete with ease while having an intelligent conversation with her friends. Lexa smiled. She definitely could have been coupled with someone a lot worse.

Lexa approached Clarke and offered a more efficient way to make the walls of their house. Clarke was open to the idea and they got to work. As they worked people came to them with ideas and requests. Clarke noticed that Lexa started to consult her more on things. Before answering a question, she would look to Clarke. Clarke would usually differ to Lexa in matter she had little understanding of, but it was nice to be asked.

One of Lexa’s people came to her, reporting on the reaper traps. They had caught five so far. Lexa was pleased with the information and told them to take the reapers to the dropship.

Clarke started building a small trench for the bottom of their wall to go into while Lexa assembled the walls. By nightfall their war counsel was helping them heft the walls into the trench and fasten them together as they discussed the finalized plan for the Mount Weather assault.

“In the morning,” Lexa told Indra as she dusted off her hands, “Take a team and build the largest reaper trap that you can. We’ll need all the reapers out of the tunnels for this rescue to be a success.”

Indra nodded. “We’ll use the ravine so that we don’t injure them.”

Lexa agreed. “Thank you, Indra.”

Indra looked at the house that Lexa and Clarke had built. She put her hand on Lexa’s shoulder. “This was a good thing, Commander.”

Lexa looked back at Indra and saw her looking at the Commanders’ house that now had four walls and the beginnings of a roof. Lexa nodded, “It is. Thank you.”

Lexa and Clarke led the digging of a fire pit in the middle of the new middle settlement. Then everyone who wanted to join them brought food and drink. They sat around the fire having a nice time, but knew that tomorrow the real work started.

As Lexa and Clarke ate breakfast in their rooftless house to go over the plan one last time, Indra and Marcus led a team of Sky People and grounders to the entrance of the tunnels. They used fallen trees, broken limbs, and vines to create a funnel that would flush all of the reapers from the tunnel entrance to a section of the ravine that had been dug out and fortified. A tunnel was dug from the ravine to an area where metal cages would be waiting. They had no hope of transporting the reapers as a group to the drop ship, but they could move a few at a time to the cages and then knock them out with the shock baton before taking them to the drop ship.

Another team led by Octavia and Lincoln, went to the drop ship to prepare the restrains for as many reapers as possible.

After a light breakfast and some joking around, Lexa and Clarke rode to the entrance of the tunnels on the same horse. The fastest runners of both clans were limbering up at the entrance. Lexa, Clarke, Marcus, Abby, Indra, and Gustus stood on a cliff overlooking the ravine.

Raven walked up behind them with a large radio in her hand. She took a place next to Clarke. “The jammer is on. It should be fuzzing out their video feeds.”

“Thanks,” Clarke looked down at the entrance. Bellamy was standing at the entrance with a gun in his hand. He was going to open the door and then hop the fence that were meant to contain the reapers. Octavia was standing on one of the cages, waiting to pull the latch on the cage door to close it. It looked like a good idea. She just hoped that when it was put into practice, it would pay off.

The runners would come out with a flood of reapers behind them. They would climb on top of the cages and then they would hopefully have a corral full of reapers. Then they would have an unobscured entrance into Mount Weather.

“It’s only a matter of time before they send their guards out to see what’s wrong with the cameras,” Clarke told Lexa.

Lexa nodded. She called to the runners, “Are you ready?”

They all nodded, bouncing on their toes.

Lexa looked to Clarke, indicating that she was ready. Clarke looked down into the ravine and nodded to Bellamy. He nodded back and opened the door to the tunnels. The runners disappeared inside the tunnels and then all anyone else could do was wait. For a few minutes it was quiet and everyone standing around the hole in the ground just waited. Bellamy climbed out of the corral and got on top of the cage with Octavia to grab the runners.

The primal screams of the reapers could be heard from deep in the tunnels. Lexa quickly took the bow off of her back and threaded an arrow. The runners could be heard yelling as they ran toward the exit.

The first runner out was a blonde girl that belonged to the grounders. She was followed by two boys from the Ark, a grounder bringing up the rear. They all jumped onto the cage as reapers started pouring out of the door, all ravenous and blood thirsty. One of the Sky People was having trouble getting on the cage. Octavia and Bellamy grabbed his arms, but a reaper took hold of one of his feet.

No one had time to blink before an arrow sailed through the hand of the reaper holding onto the runner. Octavia and Bellamy pulled the runner up and made sure all the reapers were securely in the ravine.

Clarke looked next to her at Lexa, watching her draw another arrow out of her quiver just in case. Some of the reapers realized they were trapped and started to go back into the tunnel. Lexa let another arrow sail, knocking the hidden door closed.

A few of the reapers wandered into the cage Octavia was on so she kicked it closed. Lincoln it the top of the cage he was standing on and when three reapers ran into it, he closed it as well.

Abby oversaw the knocking out and carrying off of the reapers. They were slowly taken a few at a time, tied to large logs and drug to the dropship.

“There’s no way we can clear out all the tunnels before the Mountain Men start coming out here,” Clarke looked at the group standing around her.

“You have a plan,” Lexa addressed Clarke. It was more of a statement than a question. She knew Clarke well enough by then that she knew when something was brewing in the brilliant blonde head of her Unity wife.

Clarke nodded, “I do.”

They were dresses as reapers, dirty and wearing grounder clothes when they walked in. Octavia and Raven continued orchestrating the removal of the reapers while Clarke, Lexa, Indra, Lincoln, and Bellamy, and a group of volunteers got ready. The five of them led the small group into the tunnels.

 Lincoln walked in front, holding the map that Clarke guided him through drawing. They managed to fool a group of reapers that they ran into that they were reapers as well. One started to get suspicious, but a runner ran in yelling, catching their attention.

When they got to a place that looked familiar to Clarke, she took Lexa’s hand, “This might not be something you want your people to see. You either.”

Lexa shook her head dismissively, “There’s nothing-”

Clarke stopped Lexa from moving forward by their joint hands, “I’m serious, Lexa. It’s not…” She held Lexa’s eyes. “Just please let me go first and make sure the bodies are covered.”

Lexa could see the deep concern in Clarke’s eyes. She nodded slowly, “As you wish, Commander.”

Clarke walked with Bellamy forward and around the corner where the Mountain Men dumped the bodies out of the chute and into the carts for the reapers to eat. Clarke saw that there were a few fresh bodies in the cart and it made her stomach churn remembering that she had had to hide in there, under the bodies with Anya. She found a tarp by a nearby reaper camp and tossed it over the cart.

Then she went back for Lexa and the others.

“We’re going to have to go up the chute,” Clarke told them.

Lexa surveyed the chute and the cart that was under it. Clarke had told her what it was for, but it made her blood boil thinking of the undignified way that her people had been disposed of. She pushed the cart away from the chute and took out her knife. She opened her hand to Clarke, “I need your knife.”

Clarke took the knife that Lexa had given her as a unity present out of the sheath she kept on her belt. Lexa had both knives in her hand and said something to Lincoln and Gustus. They both lifted her up until she could stab two holds into the thin metal with the knives. She made the hand holds as smooth as possible for the people coming after her. Clarke was next and then Bellamy. Soon there were a long line of grounders and Sky People shimmying up the chute using handmade hand holds and pressing their shoes against the sides of the chute.

When Lexa got to the top, she found a door. She looked it over, trying to find a way to open it from the outside when it opened on its own. A woman was on the other side about to dump another body into the chute. She was surprised by the presence of the Commander and almost got a scream out before Lexa leapt from the chute and thrust both knives into her abdomen.

Lexa shoved the woman off of the knives with her knee and then held both knives in her hand to help Clarke out of the chute.

A murmur started to come from the cages when the grounders that were being used as medicine saw Lexa. She quieted them down with gentle words in their native tongue and promised that they would be free soon.

Indra made quick work of the locks on the cages and started helping people out.

The next part of the plan commenced while Indra oversaw the rescue of the weak grounders. Lexa, Clarke, and Bellamy put on the hazmat suits in the decontamination room and walked out into the building, their faces hidden. They got a few strange looks, but mostly the people in Mount Weather were content to not know what was going on.

They ran down empty hallways and quickly made their way to the bunks where the Mountain Men were keeping the rest of The 100.

Clarke was so happy to see Monty that she hugged him before letting him know who it was. She spoke quietly through the respirator. “We have to go. Quickly and quietly.”

Monty’s whole face lit up, “Clarke?”

“Go,” Clarke told him and started waving people out of the room. Monty went to go get the other sky people who were in other places in the building.

Bellamy kept watch at the door and when the room was empty, he followed Clarke out. She frantically looked up and down the hall and then asked Bellamy, “Where’s Lexa?”

He shrugged and looked down both sides of the hallway. He saw the soldiers in the reflection of a polished sculpture before they turned the corner. He raised his gun before they turned the corner, but when they saw him they raised their guns as well. But before a bullet could be fired, Lexa appeared behind them like a shadow. She stabbed one in the back of the neck and then got another one in the gut. The last few of them turned toward her. She kicked one in the stomach and easily snapped his neck before using his body to absorb the bullets fired at her by the last soldier. She shoved the body at the solider and then thrust her knife into his throat when he was distracted.

Lexa picked up one of their guns and looked right at Clarke, “We need to go.”

Clarke nodded and they started running toward the medical wing where they had kept all of the grounders locked away. They could heard the soldiers advancing on them so Bellamy and Lexa stood at the end of the hallway firing on the soldiers.

The 100 were sliding down the chute as quickly as they could, landing on their feet with the help of Lincoln and Gustus before running in a long line through the tunnel and out into the sun.

“Lexa! Bellamy!” Clarke called taking off her hazmat suit.

Lexa looked back at Clarke and nudged Bellamy. They both ran into the medical room and closed the door. Clarke locked it and hit the scanner on the inside trying to make sure that it wouldn’t open.

Lexa was out of her hazmat suit by the time Clarke turned around. There were only a handful of people left to go down the chute so Clarke walked over to Lexa and they moved the empty cages between them and the door to slow down anyone who might get in. There was banging and what sounded like a saw running through the door

Soon only Clarke and Lexa were left. Lexa handed Clarke her knife back and pushed her toward the chute. The doors burst open and Lexa shoved Clarke at the chute.

Gunfire sounded behind her and Clarke grabbed onto the door of the chute so she wouldn’t slide down. She used one of the hand holds to propel herself back toward Lexa. She could see the Commander’s body bend almost in half when a bullet struck her.

“Lexa!” Clarke screamed. She grabbed onto Lexa and pulled her into the chute catching the gun that Lexa was holding with one hand while holding Lexa with the other. She had a foot in one of the handholds, barely keeping them steady She started shooting to provide them cover and closed the door to the chute.

Clarke held onto Lexa on their slow descent, the Commander’s blood painting the metal as the descended. Clarke held onto the jagged handholds without a second thought because she needs to get Lexa to the ground safely.

“Clarke,” Lexa softly spoke, blood trickling out of the corner of her mouth.

“Shhh,” Clarke touched her face, “Relax and rest. You’ll be fine.” There were tears in her eyes when she saw Lexa looking up at her. She looked tired and exhausted. Her eyes couldn’t seem to focus.

Lexa could feel herself slipping out of consciousness. She saw movement above them and took the gun from Clarke, shooting a soldier that had opened the door and was about to follow them. The other soldiers closed the door to avoid getting shot.

When they got close enough to the ground, Clarke dropped Lexa into Gustus’s waiting arms. She slid down herself and landed on her feet.

She ran out of the tunnel after everyone else occasionally firing behind herself. She could smell the pungent smell before she could see it. She screamed, “Everyone run! They’re releasing the acid fog!”

When she got out of the tunnels, Clarke could see everyone running as fast as they could away from Mount Weather. She looked around for the one person she was absolutely concerned about. Indra helped Lexa mount her horse and Clarke scrambled up the hill to get on the horse behind Lexa. She waited for Indra to mount her horse before putting her arms around Lexa. She took the reins around Lexa’s waist and spurred the horse forward.

“Don’t fall asleep on me,” Clarke told Lexa as they galloped forward. She saw Octavia ride a horse up to Lincoln and grab his arm to help him on without stopping. Her mom was on a horse with Marcus. Indra pulled Raven onto her horse and they followed the stragglers away from the mountain.

Lexa put her hands on her stomach. She pulled it away slowly and drowsily, seeing blood. She swallowed thickly, “Rule them well, Princess.”

“Not without you,” Clarke stated. She urged her horse faster, away from the mountain. She could see that her mother and Marcus were close behind. She held onto Lexa tightly. “C’mon Lexa, I can’t do this without you. Stay with me.”

“You are a great leader, Clarke,” Lexa choked out.

Tears flooded Clarke’s eyes. “You can’t leave me. We haven’t finished our house yet. We still have to put the fireplace in. C’mon Lexa, you promised me a fireplace.”

“I am sorry, Princess,” Lexa’s eyes slowly slipped closed, “I can’t…”

“No,” Clarke whispered. “Lexa.” Their horse burst through the clearing to the settlement that the grounders and the Sky People built together. She guided the horse through the gates of Camp Jaha. When she pulled her horse to a stop, she looked down at saw Marcus and her mother. They helped Clarke get Lexa down catching her gently. Then Clarke jumped down. She and Indra carried Lexa into the Ark and into the medical bay.

Abby got to work and Clarke assisted as best she could. She felt herself getting sick when her mother pulled a second bullet out of Lexa. Then when she pulled out another one, Clarke couldn’t take it anymore. She sat down next to Lexa. She took her hand and knelt down next to her, “Please don’t leave me.” Her hands were trembling as they held Lexa’s limp hand. “Please, Lexa.”

Nyko ran in and did as Abby told him. They both did the best they could. Abby gave Lexa an IV and put a heart monitor on her. With each steady beat of the monitor, Clarke didn’t feel as alone. She knew that Lexa as still there although barely.

Finally, there wasn’t anything else Abby could do. She pushed Lexa’s hair out of her face and looked down at her. She licked her lips and looked up at Clarke, “It’s up to her now.”

Octavia put her hand on Clarke’s shoulder, not knowing what to say.

“She’ll be okay,” Raven moved to Clarke’s other side. “She’s a warrior right?”

Clarke looked over Lexa’s face. She was so used to seeing Lexa’s face and finding a comfortable, safe place. She woke up so many mornings next to Lexa who was already awake, planning, but staying in bed so that she didn’t wake Clarke. She had share many meals and laughs with Lexa that it seemed Lexa had always been in her life.

Clarke picked up a clean cloth next to the table and gently wiped Lexa’s face clean. She removed the blood and the grime. She left the black war paint on Lexa’s face though. Raven was right. Lexa was a warrior and she was going to have to fight her greatest battle so that she could live.


	6. Chapter 6

Clarke didn’t move from Lexa’s side for the first night. She held Lexa’s hand the entire time hoping that eventually Lexa would hold her hand back. But after the first day, her mother told her it looked like a coma and it could take quite a while longer. She also told Clarke that the people needed their leader.

Clarke knew what Lexa would want her to do. So she moved her bed into the medical wing and spend every night with Lexa. But every day she worked. She finished the roof of their house by herself, refusing help. She added the fireplace that Lexa promised Clarke. Clarke led expeditions into the woods and started a farm just outside of the settlement. The acid fog started coming more and more frequently so they used old tents to make a dome over their garden. The grounders taught the Sky People how to raise animals for food. The Sky People taught the grounders about electronics and radios.

Every time that Clarke left the camp she wore war paint, the same that Lexa used to – across her eyes and dripping down her cheekbones. She wore Lexa’s clothes and rode her horse, hoping that somehow, someway it would bring Lexa back to them more quickly.

Then the acid fog stopped. Clarke held a meeting of the Sky People’s counsel and Lexa’s advisers. They talked and argued for hours all coming to the conclusion that something much worse was about to happen. So Clarke ordered the dismantling of the fence around the fallen Ark and the resurrection of walls around the entire settlement. Every able bodied person helped build the fence. Raven spend every waking hour trying to figure out how to wire it. She and Clarke decided that they only needed electricity around the top of the fence so Raven worked on top of the fence, taking cat naps on the scaffolding and eating most of her meals up there.

Indra, Octavia, and Lincoln took to training the sky people. Most of them had never trained to fight anything. Bellamy was in charge of the armory and teaching everyone to shoot.

And at night, Clarke would sit by Lexa’s side and hold her hand, praying that she would wake up so she could see what her people had done – what they’d built.

“We’re about halfway done with the fence,” Clarke told Lexa. “Raven has been up there for three days I think. The crops look like they’re starting to sprout a little. Bellamy keeps telling me that it’s probably just grass blowing into the dirt, but it’ll be great when it really starts to grow.” She ran her thumb over Lexa’s knuckles. “I planted some blueberries for you. So you should probably wake up soon before everyone else eats them.”

Clarke knew that saying that probably wouldn’t work, but she was trying everything. She touched Lexa’s still hand and looked up when she heard someone walking toward her.

Octavia stepped through the plastic curtain and smiled hopefully, “How are you?”

Clarke shrugged and looked down at Lexa, “I’d be better if she was awake.”

“I think everyone would,” Octavia offered a closed fist to Clarke and then opened her hand. “Lincoln brought some figs back from scouting.”

Clarke took the figs out of Octavia’s hand, “Thanks.” She moved to a chair near the foot of the bed and sat down. “How’s everything going out there?”

“No acid fog in two days. The Sky People are getting better at hand to hand combat. At least the grounders have stopped laughing at them,” Octavia leaned on the instrument table next to Clarke. “Lincoln and I finished our house.” Octavia smiled, “Next door to the Commanders’ house.”

Clarke nodded and smiled back, “We’ll move back in there as soon as Lexa wakes up.”

“I know,” Octavia scratched the top of her head. She looked down at the sleeping Commander. “I was thinking…” Octavia licked her lips, “Maybe we should reach out to the other clans. I know you wanted to after all the reapers have been rehabbed, but…” Octavia looked at Clarke’s face with the faded war paint on it. “And it would be better with Lexa because they know her, but you can take Indra with you and-”

“You’re right,” Clarke nodded. “I’ve been putting it off, but…” She looked at Lexa. “I can’t anymore. It’s going to come down to us against the Mountain Men. They need us to survive so they’re doing to do whatever it takes to capture as many as possible.” She swallowed, “Tomorrow morning, Indra and I will go to the other clans. I’d like you and Lincoln to come with us.”

“Of course,” Octavia touched Clarke’s arm. “We’ve got this. We have your back. All of us.”

Clarke looked up at Octavia, “Thanks.”

At dawn, Clarke said goodbye to her mother and made her promise to take care of Lexa. She rode off with Indra, Octavia, and Lincoln, wanting to make it back to the settlement before the sun went down.

Abby was checking on Lexa when Monty walked in. He sort of lingered at the door until Abby saw him. She smiled, “Hi Monty, what can I do for you?”

“I just wanted to know if there was something I could do to help,” Monty offered, “Raven yelled at me to get away from the top of the fence, so…” He rubbed the back of his neck, “Clarke is really worried about Lexa. Is there anything I can do?”

Abby leaned on the table and bent down to straighten up Clarke’s bed on the floor. “It’s sweet of you to offer, but everything is up to Lexa now.”

Monty nodded. “Okay. Thanks.” He ducked his head and started to walk out.

“Maybe,” Abby offered. She paused and waited for him to turn back around, “I have to go check on the reaper rehabilitation. Maybe you could stay with Lexa?”

Monty nodded, “Yeah. Definitely.” He looked the sleeping warrior laying on the bed. “Do I need to…do anything?”

Abby shook her head, “You don’t have to do anything. But you can talk to her. I don’t know if she can hear you, but…sometimes it’s just nice to know you’re not alone.”

“Is she ever alone with that guy sitting outside?” Monty joked.

Abby smiled and picked up her bag, “He won’t leave. I think he’s been there since the rescue.” She put her bag over her shoulder, “I should be back in a few hours. If you leave, just tell Gustus and he’ll get the grounder’s healer to come sit with her.”

Monty nodded firmly and sat in the chair at the table. He looked over at Lexa after Abby left and exhaled softly, “So, you from around here?”

=+=+==

Clarke looked back at Indra as they rode their horses toward another village. “What do you know about the Ice Nation?”

“Savages,” Indra spat. “They are to be killed on sight.”

Clarke thought for a moment and then looked at Lincoln, “When was the last time you saw any of them?”

“Before the Sky People landed,” Lincoln stated. He was riding behind Octavia on a black horse. He unscrewed the lid to his water and took a long drink.

“Where are they?” she asked, looking around them, seeing something move in the bushes. She watched a squirrel run up the trunk of a tree and was relieved it wasn't something else.

“North,” Indra answered succinctly.

Clarke looked at the sky. She wanted to go back to the settlement. She wanted to check on Lexa, but she knew that before there could be rest, she had to be a leader. “How many more villages are there?”

“Seven,” Indra answered, “Three of them have sent their leaders to the next one village we are to visit.”

“How many people in each village?” the blonde commander rolled her neck and gently patted Lexa's white horse.

“The largest one is around fifty,” Indra placed her hand on the handle of her knife.

Clarke exhaled, “That's not a lot of people.”

“But they are strong warriors,” Lincoln added. He looked to Indra who would still not look back at him. He leaned forward into Octavia and put his arms around her waist.

Clarke wasn't so sure that was going to be enough to stand up against a small army of heavily armed, heavily trained soldiers. She looked down at her hands that were holding onto the reins. It did no good to wish that Lexa was okay. She was just going to have to do what she needed to until Lexa was back.

The people in the village all stopped what they ere doing when Clarke rode in. The saw the war paint indicative of their leader and knew that this was the new Commander. Clarke set her jaw and rode with pride like she had seen Lexa do. When Lexa woke up and heard what Clarke had done, she wanted Lexa to be proud of her.

The meetings all went well. Clarke informed the leaders that they had been rehabilitating reapers and that when they were healthy, they'd be returned to their villages. The leaders all pledged their warriors to the attack on Mount Weather.

Clarke was getting antsy as it neared dusk. She wanted to get back to Lexa. She just wanted a moment-

“Mountain men,” Octavia whispered loud enough for her group to hear.

Clarke's head whipped in the direction of Octavia's gaze. Men in black were a few hundred yards away, slowly making their way through the forest. Clarke looked to her side and when she didn't find Lexa next to her, her gaze moved to Indra. “What do you think?”

“They should die,” Indra stated.

Clarke thought quickly, “If we get one of their radios we can hear what their plans are.” She dismounted her horse. She handed the reins to Lincoln who dismounted as well, but stood still. Clarke pointed to the horse, “Remember that's Lexa's horse.”

Lincoln nodded.

Clarke nodded for Octavia and Indra to go with her. They crept up close to the mountain men. She saw there were only four of them and it would be easy enough to defeat them if they were surprised. Clarke would occasionally check behind them to make sure that Lincoln had hid the horses well. When they got close enough, Octavia disappeared from Clarke's side. She knew whatever Octavia was doing was going to be advantageous. She just with Octavia would tell her things.

Indra threaded an arrow and let it fly at the Mountain Men. The one it hit, dropped like a rock. Octavia came out of nowhere and stabbed one of them in the neck. Clarke knocked one down and then hit him in the head with rock to knock him out. She took his radio while Octavia took care of the last one.

The radio in Clarke's hand shouted, “Move in!” She looked up and saw at least fifteen more Mountain Men run over a ridge and point their guns at them.

“It's an ambush,” Clarke breathed. She took out her gun, but knew it was useless. She uneasily stood next to Octavia whose eyes were wildly looking around.

Indra reached for her knife, but two red laser dots moved to her chest. She put her hand down by her side.

Just before the Mountain Men were in arm's reach, gunfire erupted. Clarke ducked down and watched some of the Mountain Men fall before her. She looked around for the shooter and found a white horse galloping toward her. Before she knew it, she was snatched up and galloping away behind the rider.

Before her brain caught up to everything, her arm encircled the ride and she could feel exactly who rescued her. Lexa didn't say anything. She turned her horse around and used the gun in her hand to fire at the Mountain Men. Clarke could see Octavia was on the back of the horse Lincoln was controlling. They rode past the Mountain Men and hit them with clubs. Bellamy was on the ridge firing at the leftover Mountain Men.

“Stop!” Clarke called when the last Mountain Men stood with his hands in the air.

Everyone lowered their weapons and looked at Clarke. She ordered, “Take him to the drop ship.” Everyone looked confused, but everyone started doing what she said.

Clarke finally got to turn her attention to Lexa, “You're awake.” She kissed Lexa's cheek.

Lexa smiled, “I see you've been running things well.”

“I've been trying,” Clarke confessed. She rested her chin on Lexa's shoulder, “How did you know we were in trouble?”

“I didn't,” Lexa urged the horse to move, starting her way toward the drop ship, “I was on my way to join you in alliance talks when we saw you.”

“Everyone has agreed to fight with us,” Clarke started catching Lexa up. She explained everything that had gone on while Lexa was out and ended by telling her that she was so glad that she was awake.

When they arrived back at the settlement, Clarke dismounted first and then helped Lexa down. She could see Lexa wincing as she hopped down. She put her hand gently on Lexa's side. “You probably shouldn't have come.”

“I had to,” Lexa looked down at her stomach. The clothes she was wearing were a mixture of her own and Clarke's. A little spot of blood was seeping through Clarke's shirt that she was wearing. “You're my other.”

Clarke lifted up Lexa's shirt, “That needs a bandage.”

Monty came running up to them and slowed down when Lexa looked up at him. He sidestepped Lexa and looked at Clarke. Clarke looked at his messed up hair and a bruise on his cheek. Clarke frowned, “What happened to you?”

Monty eyed Lexa, “She woke up and hit me.”

Lexa just kind of shrugged.

Clarke touched Monty's face and smirked, “Thanks for watching her for me.”

Monty smiled, “No problem.” He hooked his thumb over his shoulder, “I'm going to go see if I can help Raven.”

Clarke turned back to Lexa, “Do you want to go get patched up first or do you want to see what we've done?”

The Commander looked around, “Show me.”

The blonde smiled and hooked her arm through Lexa's, “Over here we have the green house.” After a full tour of all the new features of the settlement. she showed Lexa their house. Clarke lingered at the door and watched Lexa look around. Their joint bed had been moved into the house. It was bare because Clarke had been sleeping on the blankets in the medical wing of the Ark.

There was wood in the fireplace, but it hadn't been used. Lexa's map table had been moved into the middle of the room. “I didn't do _everything_ myself.” Clarke confessed, “Bellamy helped me salvage the hinges for the door from some of the pieces of the Ark.” She watched Lexa's sharp eyes take in their finished house. When Lexa saw a stack of books on the ground, Clarke added, “I was hoping maybe it would be okay to build a bookshelf.”

“Of course,” Lexa nodded. She looked over at Clarke, “This is great.”

“Really?” Clarke stepped it, letting the door clicked shut behind them.

Lexa smiled. “Do I lie?”

Clarke shook her head, “No. I just...I was really worried about you and I think working on this house got me through it because I was working on something to make you happy when you woke up.”

Lexa looked at the cracked open door and then looked at Clarke. She took Clarke's hand and ran her thumbs over Clarke's knuckles. “You are the most generous person I have ever met.” She held Clarke's eyes as she slowly brought Clarke's hand to her lips.

Clarke felt a flutter in her stomach. She knew that her devotion to Lexa was beyond obligation. It was probably beyond friendship, but she had so many thing to worry about that she hadn't even stopped to analyze what she could be feeling.

Lexa dropped Clarke's hands gently at her sides. She looked at the dark paint on Clarke's face, “I like your war paint.”

“I just...” Clarke looked down, embarrassed to explain her reasoning to Lexa, “I'm so used to having you with me that I...it was a way to carry you everywhere I went.” She looked up and saw understanding in Lexa's eyes. She nodded slowly.

“You are a true warrior, Clarke of the Sky People,” Lexa tucked some of Clarke's hair behind her ear.

There was a knock on the door frame. Both leaders looked at the door and saw Abby standing there. She could see she was interrupting something. She apologized and held up a bandage, looking at Lexa, “Monty said that you probably needed to be bandaged again.”

“She does,” Clarke took a step back from Lexa and lifted up Lexa's shirt. Lexa stood still while the Griffin women changed her wound dressings.

“How are the reapers?” Lexa asked Abby.

“I was about to go check on them, if you want to go,” Abby told her.

Clarke touched Lexa's arm, “Maybe you should rest.”

Lexa started moving to the door. Clarke raised an eyebrow at her mom. Abby raised her hands in surrender.

Clarke mounted Lexa's horse behind her and Abby rode next to them. They could hear the moans as they moved closer to the drop ship. Clarke could feel Lexa tense under her arms. Clarke turned her palm toward Lexa and pressed her hand gently into Lexa's stomach.

“Did we get them all?” Lexa asked, looking at the outer barrier of the drop ship.

Clarke glanced over at her mom, “We got as many as we could. We're going to keep getting the rest of them, but with the acid fog happening more frequently, we can't get anymore right now.”

Lexa nodded. “Are there scout camps near Mount Weather?”

“No,” Clarke swallowed. She still knew there were so many things she needed Lexa for. She didn't know how to be a leader on the ground. She wasn't a warrior.

Lexa was understanding, but upset at herself for not being there for her people and for Clarke. “Indra should have sent the scouts out.”

“Indra's been busy,” Clarke answered, “She's been trying to train the Sky People to fight and she's been helping make preparations for an attack. The Mountain Men are going to attack. We just don't know when.”

“Which is why we need scouts,” Lexa stated as they arrived at the drop ship. “Do you have your radio?”

Clarke took the radio off of her belt and handed it to Lexa. Lexa watched Clarke dismount before calling on the radio, “Someone please put Indra on the radio.”

A few seconds later, Indra asked, “Commander?”

“Place scout camps around Mount Weather,” Lexa stated, “I want to know everything that the Mountain Men are doing.”

“Yes Commander,” Indra answered.

Lexa dropped the radio to Clarke and then dismounted. She walked to the guards and stood in front of them, “Where is the Mountain Man?”

“We locked him in the first level of the drop ship with the reapers,” the guard stated.

“He may be inclined to talk to us now,” Clarke offered. She looked at Lexa who nodded slowly. She ordered the guard, “Bring him to us.”

 


	7. Chapter 7

“What is your plan of attack?” Lexa demanded, pacing in front of the soldier on his knees in front of her.

He grunted, “I won’t tell you.”

“You underestimate the ways I can make you tell me what I want to know,” Lexa stopped in front of him. She started to reach for her sword, but Clarke stopped her hand. Lexa was annoyed when she looked at Clarke. Then she took a deep breath and tried to level her head. She looked to the guards, “Hand me that rope.”

The guards looked to where she was indicating and one of them picked it up and walked to her. Lexa had the rope in her hand and looked at the man, “I'm going to tie this around your wrist to keep the air our of your suit. Then I'm going to take your glove off.” Lexa looked deep into the man's eyes. “Then you can tell me what we want to know or I can move it up your arm and we can roll up your sleeves.” Lexa held the man's eyes and watched him become more and more terrified of her.

“I-I...I can't,” he stuttered.

Lexa swiftly looped the rope around his wrist and just as she grabbed for his glove, he screamed, “Stop! Stop I'll tell you.” He looked down at the ground. “They're going to take out the leaders first,” he looked at Clarke and Lexa, “Both of you. There are going to be sniper teams all over the place.” He shook his head, crying, “That's all I know. I'm just a scout.”

Lexa turned back to the man, “When?”

“They're already in the woods,” he sat back on his feet and looked up at her.

Clarke shifted her weight from one foot to the other, “Maybe we should send some scout teams to Mount Weather tomorrow.”

Lexa looked over at Clarke. She had just sent scout teams to Mount Weather. She could see in Clarke's eyes that there was a plan. She trusted Clarke's judgment and went with it, “Our best scout are on the other side of the mountains. It will be a day before they return.”

“So the day after tomorrow,” Clarke passionately plead her fake case. “We have to do it as soon as we can.”

Lexa clenched her jaw and turned directly toward Clarke. “Do not raise your voice to me.”

“You're not doing anything!” Clarke threw her arms and walked past Lexa toward the very confused guards. Clarke used her eyes to motion them toward the drop ship. The guards paused and followed before Lexa marched after them.

“How dare you-” Lexa started to speak and then the man who they were interrogating, who was left alone outside the drop ship gates, took off running into the woods. Lexa stopped the guards from chasing after him, having figured out Clarke's plan.

“Get on the radio,” Lexa told the guards, “We need more warriors here immediately.”

The guards nodded. One stood at the gate while the other walked closer to the drop ship to use the radio.

Clarke sighed softly and looked at Lexa, “That was amazing.” She offered Lexa a smile, knowing that Lexa's fake anger had faded.

Lexa tried to fight off a smile as well, “If they think we're under-prepared, perhaps we can catch them under-prepared.”

Clarke nodded, “That's the plan.” Clarke looked out at the forest and then took Lexa's hand, pulling her away from the opening in the fence. “What are we going to do about the snipers though?” Clarke met Lexa's eyes, “We can't move around the forest like we have been. We've been out in the open too much already.”

Lexa agreed. “We'll wait for more guards to come here. Then we'll head back to the settlement. Our house will be more than adequate cover from the snipers.” Lexa squeezed Clarke's hand and then let it go, “We'll be okay. We have both survived worse than Mount Weather.”

Clarke offered her a small smile, “You're right.”

“We'll rest here,” Lexa told Clarke. She turned toward the drop ship. She was just starting to see it as somewhere other than the place where hundreds of her people were burned to death. She clenched her jaw. She could hear the grounders all struggling to free themselves in the drop ship.

Clarke rolled a fallen log with her foot toward the fence they'd built when they first landed. She sat down on it and looked up, waiting for Lexa.

Lexa sat down and put her legs out straight in front of herself. She leaned back on the wall and looked up at the sky.

Clarke gently bumped her shoulder with Lexa's, “What are you thinking about?”

“It is almost the cold season,” Lexa stated. “Not only must we prepare for war, we must prepare food.”

Clarke put her arm across Lexa's back, “We'll figure it all out. We have enough people now that we can do both. The fence is almost done and we don't have to have much food because of the greenhouse. We can grow food all year.”

Lexa turned her body away from Clarke and leaned back on her. She had become so comfortable with Clarke that she didn't even think twice about getting close to her. “We need to build a smokehouse for the meat.”

Clarke started to absently stroke Lexa's hair. “We can do that.”

“And we need a -”

“Lexa,” Clarke looked down at the Commander leaning back on her, “Take a breath. You just woke up.”

“I've been asleep for too long,” Lexa sighed.

Clarke nodded in agreement. “Too long for me anyway.”

Lexa looked up at Clarke and saw a caring smile. She smiled back, a little shyly. The blonde smiled wider absolutely adoring the Lexa that was relaxing with her, if only for a moment.

“Commander,” a guard interrupted them.

Lexa sat up straight, putting on her commander front again. She looked expectantly at him. He answered, “The guards are here.”

Lexa nodded and stood. She offered her hand to Clarke and helped her up. They walked in the middle of a small phalanx of soldiers, both Sky People and Grounders. The woods had been cleared before them by Indra and Octavia. They made it back to the settlement with no incidents.

Clarke sent some of her people to work on the smokehouse while Lexa sent off a hunting team. Clarke was the first one into the house, knowing that when they were in the settlement, they needed to be indoors. She watched out the windows for Lexa and saw her walking toward the house with a bag over her shoulder.

Lexa opened the door and smiled when she saw Clarke, “You're already here.” She set the bag on her map table and started moving the maps to the side, “I have a gift for you.”

Clarke was curious and walked over to the table, “A gift?”

Lexa's smile grew a little nervous. She nodded, opening the bag. She started to extract things and set them on the table. First there were two jars of black paint. Then a stack of blank papers followed by three books filled with blank pages. Lexa offered Clarke a few beaten art supplies and a few rocks of different colors that could be used for drawing, “I have heard that you like to make art. Drawing and painting.”

“I do,” Clarke picked up a piece of charcoal. She smiled at Lexa, “You didn't have to do this.”

“I wanted to,” Lexa pulled some food out of the bag, “We're going to be spending a lot of time indoors. You need something to occupy your hands.”

Clarke looked down at her hands and knew that Lexa was right. She wasn't one to sit around and wait. Clarke walked around the table and hugged Lexa, “Thank you.”

Lexa started a fire in the fireplace and moved to the bed to lay down. She needed a moment. She still wasn't fully recovered. She was tired and sore, and just needed to relax. She laid on her side and watched Clarke start to paint with an old paintbrush and the black paint in the jar. She saw Clarke test it out on her hand and then use it on the paper.

“Is this the war paint?” Clarke asked, looking over at Lexa.

Lexa nodded.

“Do you feel okay?” Clarke turned all the way around to look at Lexa.

“I'm fine as long as you're painting,” Lexa stated firmly. She met Clarke's eyes when a face of truth.

Clarke smiled softly at Lexa and turned back around to continue painting. Lexa could see Clarke's face over her shoulder. She could see her eyebrows furrow in concentration. She watched Clarke bit her lip and lean close to the paper. Lexa smiled to herself. She never thought she'd have an other. She honestly never thought she'd live long enough see peace between the Sky People and the Woods Clan. Now there was a small city between them.

It was almost an hour later when there was a knock on the door. Lexa immediately sat up and tried to make sure it didn't look like she had been laying down. She had just spend days out of action. She didn't want anyone to think that she was still injured or showed any kind of weakness.

“Who is it?” Clarke called, putting down her paintbrush.

“Sky People Chancellor,” a guard called. They had been stationed outside their door to escort them anywhere and keep watch.

Clarke looked at Lexa who nodded. She called, “C'min, Mom.”

The door opened and Abby stepped in with a bag over her shoulder. “Hey,” she looked at Lexa who was lingering in the corner, “I came to check on you. How are you feeling?”

“Well,” Lexa nodded gratefully to Abby.

Abby turned to Clarke and paused, “You're painting.”

Clarke smiled, “Lexa brought me supplies since we're going to be stuck inside until we stop the Mountain Men.”

“That was nice of her,” Abby moved closer to the table and leaned down to look. She swallowed when she saw what it was. Abby put her hand on Clarke's back and rubbed a small circle, “That's beautiful.”

Lexa was curious so she walked over and stood on the other side of Clarke from Abby. She saw a picture of a man standing on the page, his hands on his hips, and a smile on his face. The detail was incredible. Lexa didn't ask who it was because it was clearly something that was causing tension between Clarke and Abby.

Clarke looked up at Lexa, “This is my dad.”

Lexa looked over the picture again and was able to pick out specific traits that Clarke seemed to possess of her father's. Lexa wasn't sure what she was supposed to say. In her Clan, the dead were remembered, but not in any great length for their souls returned to the earth. Lexa put her hand on Clarke's shoulder, “He looks strong.”

Clarke knew that strength was important to Lexa's people and that saying someone looked strong was probably one of the deepest compliments one could give. She put her hand on top of Lexa's, “He was.”

Lexa looked over at Abby who looked back at her. She could see the question in Abby's eyes and nodded slowly. Lexa squeezed Clarke's shoulder and let go, “I am going to inspect the village's progress.”

Clarke stood up quickly, her mother's hand falling from her back. “You can't go out there.”

“I shall have my guards,” Lexa picked up her cloak and put it over her shoulders. She pulled up the hood, “I will be safe.”

“Please be careful,” Clarke plead as she watched Lexa walk to the door.

Lexa met Clarke's eyes and nodded. Then she turned and walked out the door. On the other side of the door, Lexa told the guards at the house that Clarke and her mother were not to be disturbed. She walked to a firepit that had been built near her house and stood next to it, watching the fire burn in the dark night. She looked at Lincoln who was sitting by the fire, sharpening his weapon, “Where is Indra?”

“She and Octavia are hunting, Commander,” Lincoln looked out past the fence, “They should be back any moment.”

Lexa looked at all the people milling around. She asked in trigedasleng, “ _How is the combat training of the Sky People?”_

Lincoln paused, “ _Slow_.”

Lexa looked behind her and saw that her guards weren't really paying attention to her conversation. They were looking out past the edge of the fence. She added, “ _Not everyone can take to combat like Octavia_.”

Lincoln smiled and respectfully looked up at Lexa, “ _Like a fish to water_.”

Lexa looked behind herself at her house and then her eyes moved to the one next to it, “Is your house done?”

“Yes,” Lincoln answered, “There isn't much furniture yet, but we're working on it.”

Lexa rested her hand on top of her belt. She looked out toward the fence and saw Indra leading a small team into the village with two boars and a deer. Octavia had a bobcat skin over her shoulder.

Indra directed the group to the newly built smokehouse. It was small and thrown together, but they needed to start stockpiling as soon as possible. She looked up toward Lexa and their eyes met. Lexa gave an approving nod and Indra nodded back.

“Lexa,” Abby called as she walked closer to the fire pit. Lexa turned around and saw Abby smiling at her. “Thank you for giving us some time.”

The Commander looked at Abby's face, “Of course.”

Abby put her hand on Lexa's shoulder, “Do you want me to look you over before I head to bed?”

Lexa shook her head, “I'm fine.”

“Of course,” Abby dropped her hand walked away. “If you get a fever or you start to feel shaky, let Clarke know.”

Lexa looked over Abby's face and saw something that hadn't been directed at her in quiet a while. It was motherly. It confused Lexa and made her suspicious. She nodded her agreement before Abby walked back toward the Sky People camp.

Octavia walked up to Lincoln. She nodded reverently to the Commander before smiling at Lincoln and showing him the skin she had, “I got us the start of a blanket.”

Lincoln stood and kissed Octavia, “It's a good start.”

Lexa dismissed her guards and walked back to her house. When she opened the door, Clarke was adding some logs to the fireplace. The flames grew and Clarke sat proudly back to watch.

“Are you tired?” Lexa asked.

Clarke shook her head, “But we can go to bed if you are.”

The Commander took off her cloak and laid it on the foot of the bed, “'I'm not tired.” It was a lie, but she didn't want Clarke to go to bed because of her.

“Do you mind if I keep drawing?” Clarke picked up the coal next to the blank pages.

Lexa smiled, pleased that Clarke was enjoying her gift. “Of course not.” She picked up her cloak and put it back on, “I'll be right back.”

“Where are you going?” Clarke asked.

Lexa put her hood up and looked back at Clarke, “Trust me.”

The blonde didn't have an answer because she trusted Lexa explicitly. After a second of eye contact, Lexa left again.

Clarke started to draw, content with the few supplies that she had. It wasn't a few minutes later that Lexa returned. She was carrying some cooked meat in a bowl and a pouch of berries. There was an extra bowl in her hand that contained two other pouches.

She set all the food down and walked to the bed to retrieve their canteen of water. “My mother taught me to make war paint. All different colors.” She was talking more quickly than usual, letting her excitement get the best of her. She opened the pouch in the extra bowl and poured a red powder into the bowl. Then she added the water and mixed it with her fingers. “You can use it on paper as well.” She smiled up at Clarke, hopeful that she would like it.

Clarke smiled widely, “That is so great. Thank you so much.” She dipped her finger in the paint and looked at the color. Then she reached toward Lexa and painted a horizontal line across the Commander's cheek.

Lexa moved her fingers to Clarke's face and used her paint covered fingers to make three parallel lines fall diagonally across Clarke's face. Clarke laughed.

She picked up a paintbrush, dipping it in the paint on the way to Lexa's cheek. She drew three lines on Lexa's unmarked cheek, not realizing how close she was to Lexa's face until she was done.

Her eyes met Lexa's and she could feel each of Lexa's breaths in her chest like they were her own. She could see the vulnerability in Lexa's face – the uncertainty. She could see the woman beneath the facade. She bright, brilliant, beautiful woman under the war paint.

Clarke let her head dip down and her lips brushed softly against Lexa's. The Commander's eyes fluttered closed at the contact. A shaky breath made it's way from her mouth to Clarke's.

It wasn't a second later that Clarke pulled away, her eyes wide. She dropped the paintbrush on the table and stood, knocking over the chair she was sitting on. She looked at Lexa's blank expression and whispered, “I'm sorry.”

Lexa stood up straight and looked at Clarke, “Don't be sorry.” Lexa's eyes grazed the ground, “We are coupled. There are certain privileges that come with that. I am yours.”

“No,” Clarke looked at Lexa, “I didn't- I don't want -” She saw Lexa's eyes rise up to look at her. Clarke paused to gather the right words. She held Lexa's eyes while she thought and she found that it only muddled her thoughts. Clarke looked away for a beat and then looked back, “I... I like you. And I know that we're married or whatever, but I _never_ want to do anything that you don't want to do. I don't care what the ceremonial marriage means. I won't ask you for anything,” Clarke took a deep breath and slowly picked up the chair she knocked over.

“You like me?” Lexa asked, tilting her head, trying to get everything straight in her head.

Clarke nodded slowly. She put it another way just in case that grounders didn't use that term, “I'm attracted to you.”

Lexa took a step toward Clarke and gently wrapped her fingers around Clarke's. She held Clarke's eyes, “I like you too.”

The blonde was stunned for a beat as she watched Lexa slowly lift her hand to her lips. After a tender kiss was dropped on her knuckles, Lexa added, “I only wish to make you happy.”

Clarke's shoulders dropped as the tension left her body, “Really?” She nervously held Lexa's hand in the middle of their home. “This isn't just because we're married. If there's something between us, I don't want it to be because you think that you have to. We can just live together and be friends.”

“You talk too much, Clarke of the Sky People,” the Commander started and swiftly moved forward, capturing Clarke's lips. Clarke felt a strong hand on her jaw and another around her waist. She slipped her hands behind Lexa's neck, pulling her deeper into the kiss.

A wide smile on Clarke's face broke the kiss. She leaned back away from Lexa so that she could look at her face. She wanted to make sure that Lexa was doing something she wanted and not something that she felt obligated to do.

All she saw in front of her was Lexa. She wasn't the Commander or a peacekeeper or alliance builder. The woman in front of her was just Lexa, completely and honestly. Clarke kissed Lexa again. She could see that Lexa was tired and knew that she needed to rest. “Let's go to bed.”

There was a flash of panic in Lexa's eyes until Clarke assured her, “Just sleep. We need to rest.”

Lexa tried to cover up her momentary worry. She nodded slowly. “Of course.”

“You never have to do anything you don't want to do,” Clarke assured her. “Especially for me.”

Lexa leaned down and kissed Clarke. She didn't say anything, but the kiss conveyed that she understood. They moved to the bed and got in their regular sleeping positions. Clarke was relieved to have Lexa next to her and excited for the new step in their relationship.


	8. Chapter 8

Clarke ate from the bowl of berries on the table as she drew. She would occasionally look out the window to see if anything was happening, but for the most part she was content knowing that her plan was in motion and that her people were safe for the moment.

Lexa on the other hand was restless. She had been pacing the length of their house since she woke up. Clarke tried to get her to sit down and Lexa acquiesced for a full ten seconds before she was up and moving again.

“Lexa,” Clarke softly called her. “What's wrong?”

“I'm stuck in here,” Lexa moved to the window and stood to the side, looking out over the bustling village they'd managed to create.

Clarke watched Lexa move from one window to another before resuming her pacing. The blonde put down her paint and offered, “We can go to the Ark. There's cover there. I'm sure there's something to be done there.”

“This is disgraceful,” Lexa clenched her fists, “How are we supposed to lead our people if we look like cowards?”

“We don't look like cowards,” Clarke stood up and walked over to Lexa, “We look like people who know what's going on. The scouts will be back today. Indra and Octavia have teams sweeping the forest for the snipers. When we find them, we can go wherever we want, but tempting fate by walking around in the open with the snipers isn't the smart thing to do.”

Lexa looked into Clarke's eyes trying to draw on Clarke's patience.She felt like she was locked away in a dungeon.

“You can paint with me or…you can read a book,” Clarke gestured to her small stack of books.

The Commander frowned. She started pacing again muttering something Clarke didn't quite catch.

“What?” Clarke asked, following Lexa to the window.

Lexa didn't look at Clarke when she answered, “I can't read your language.” Her voice was soft and unsure. She was embarrassed and wasn't really sure if she wanted Clarke to know.

“Oh,” Clarke looked over Lexa's face. She could see exactly what Lexa was feeling, “That's okay.” Clarke looked over at her small cache of books and back at Lexa, “Do you want to learn how?”

Lexa blinked once. She looked over Clarke's face, looking for any sign of condescension or pity. There was neither in her bright eyes. There was just caring and understanding. Lexa knocked her right fist against her outer thigh nervously, “I would like that very much.”

Clarke flashed a small smile, wishing Lexa wasn't so anxious. She wanted to make learning to read as easy on Lexa as possible. She wanted it to be comfortable for Lexa. Clarke moved to the bed and started folding up blankets. She stacked them on one end of the bed, looked through the books, picked one up, and then laid down with her head on the blankets. She opened her arms, “C'mon.”

Lexa smiled shyly and looked down at her feet. She was trying to contain how happy she was that Clarke was being supportive. She wasn't sure why she expected anything else.

Lexa moved to Clarke and crawled into her arms. Clarke kissed Lexa's forehead as they settled in together.

Lexa did know a little bit. She had picked up short words and some words that she had seen repeated around Tondc. Clarke had picked out the easiest book she had. She let Lexa read the words she knew and helped her with the ones she didn't, adding little grammar lessons in when she needed to.

For some reason, Lexa didn't feel bad about not knowing something most people expected her to around Clarke. She leaned back on Clarke and read as best she could while Clarke helped and stroked her hair close to her scalp. She had always wanted to learn to read English. There was just never time with the warring clans. Then when they were united clans, there wasn't enough time because of the Sky People landing. Then there were the Mountain Men.

They got a few chapters into the book before Lexa had to get up and see what was happening outside. She opened her door and called one of the guards to ask if anything had changed. She told them that she was to be informed the second the scouts got back.

Clarke stood up, watching Lexa walk in from the outside. She walked over to the table and picked up Lexa's cloak off of the chair and put it on herself. “I'm going to go to the Ark and see if I can help.”

Lexa lingered near the doorway, unsure if she wanted to let Clarke go. Finally she remembered that Clarke was smart and wouldn’t put herself in danger wantonly. “Take the guards with you.” She gestured to the map, “I am going to talk with some of the leaders and warriors. We need to sweep the forest as we move toward the mountain. The sooner we take the mountain, the sooner we can move freely.”

Clarke nodded. She put the hood over her head and moved to Lexa. She stood in front of the Commander, making sure that the hood is securely over her head. She pushed up on her toes and kissed Lexa, “And when you get too restless to stay, please be careful.”

Lexa nodded, “I will.”

The blonde smiled at her usually so serious ceremonial wife just to see her smile. Lexa couldn't stop a smile when Clarke was smiling at her like that, “You're cute.”

Even at the accusation, Lexa couldn't wipe the smile away. She kissed Clarke and then stepped back so that Clarke could leave.

Clarke felt helpful in the Ark. She was treating small medical problems, cuts and burns. It wasn't anything she hadn't done before. She had been there for a few hours and was bandaging a sprained ankle when she heard a gunshot.

She breathed out the name of her girlfriend as she ran out of the infirmary. Lincoln ran into her in the door and grabbed her before she could run out.

“Let go!” Clarke called.

“The sniper is out there,” Lincoln told her.

Clarke looked up at him, “Where's Lexa?”

“I don't know,” Lincoln shook his head, “But you can't go out there.”

Clarke looked around Lincoln, but could only see people running into the Ark. As an Ark guard ran by, Clarke grabbed his radio. She moved it to her lips, pressing the button, “Ark to the village. Where is the Commander?”

Octavia's voice crackled over the radio, “I don't know. I saw her leave your house and go to the gate.”

In Lincoln's relief over hearing Octavia's voice, he didn't catch Clarke bolting out of the door of the Ark. He jumped after her and easily caught up, his long strides overtaking hers. More grounder guards followed Clarke, knowing what would happen to them if something happened to Clarke and Lexa found out that they were just standing there.

Everyone had gone inside to hide from the snipers, leaving empty roads all over the village. Clarke could pick out their own gun wielding guards at various places in the camps, looking into the woods for the source of the gunshots.

Clarke burst into hers and Lexa's house only to find it empty. She looked around like Lexa could be hiding behind something although there was nothing in the one room house for her to hide behind.

A joyous whoop came from outside the house. Clarke ran to the door and saw that people were coming out of their houses and other buildings to see what was happening. Near the gate around the massive settlement, Lexa walked in holding a rope that was attached to the wrists of a Mountain Man. Over Lexa's shoulder was a sniper rifle and her sword was in its sheath.

Clarke marched down to toward the gate and into the grounder village where Lexa had disappeared with the prisoner.

“Where is she?” Clarke growled as soon as she was close enough to Octavia to ask.

Octavia gestured to tent behind her. She smiled, “Pretty cool how Lexa went out and caught him herself.” Her smile faded when she saw that Clarke was fuming, “Or not.”

Clarke left her guards with Octavia and strode into the tent where Lexa was directing the bounding of the prisoner. The blonde marched right up to Lexa and asked, “What the _hell_ were you thinking?”

Lexa blinked not ready for the sudden assault. She frowned, “What was I thinking?”

“When you went out into the woods _alone_ ,” Clarke agitatedly elaborated.

“I saw him through binoculars,” Lexa gestured. “He didn't know that I saw him so I snuck out. It was more stealthy for me to go alone.”

“And more dangerous,” Clarke huffed. She looked around them and knew that they shouldn't be bickering in front of people. She swallowed and nodded, “But, good job, Commander.”

Lexa looked questioningly at Clarke. Clarke never called her Commander. She didn't have time to dwell on it though. She could asked Clarke when they were alone. In the mean time, she had a sniper to question.

Clarke picked up the sniper rifle that was laid next to the door of the tent. She stepped out and handed it to Octavia, “Take this to the Ark. Give it to the best marksman we have and help them find a place to started a watch.”

Octavia took the gun and ran off.

Clarke went back into the tent to see how questioning of the sniper was going to go. Lexa had shown a tact that Clarke had initially been unsure was there. However, she still worried that at some point, Lexa was going to employ some of her more traditional grounder torture techniques.

When she found Lexa deeper in the tent, standing at the entrance of the cove that the prisoner was being kept in, she found Lexa talking in trigedasleng to Indra. Clarke didn't know the language yet, but she was picking up a few words as she went. She heard 'stay' and 'food'. As she was trying to hear more, she saw something that distracted her.

Clarke moved swiftly and silently to Lexa's back. She reached up and touched a dark, wet looking place on Lexa's back, just below the pauldron she was wearing. She felt Lexa twitch subtly away from her and when she looked at her fingers she could see why. Lexa was injured and the wet spot that Clarke touched was blood. As she looked at her fingers, her hand started shaking.

Lexa took a step to the side and looked at Clarke, “The scout team has radioed us. They have captured another sniper.”

Clarke blinked, wondering how Lexa was still continuing to talk normally when she was bleeding pretty heavily from her shoulder.

Lexa went on because she could see Clarke was in shock. “We cannot wait any longer. We must attack Mount Weather.”

“When?” Clarke asked, pulling herself together long enough to hold a conversation.

Lexa looked at one of the guards, “Gather the leaders. We shall hold counsel at dusk.” With that, Lexa left in a flurry of her cape. Clarke started moving after her, following her out of the tent and toward the unity village. Lexa started calling out orders as she walked, telling people to start sharpening their weapons and for one of her guards to bring her battle armor to her house.

When they got to the house, Lexa moved straight inside and Clarke closed the door after them. “You're hurt.”

Lexa nodded slowly. She untied her cape and let it fall to the ground. She unbuckled her pauldron, letting it fall as well. Clarke moved to Lexa to help her take off her sword. She started to untie Lexa's top without thinking about it, needing to get to the wound as soon as possible.

When the top fell away, Clarke realized that Lexa was topless in front of her and she averted her eyes immediately, “Lay down on the bed and I'll look at it.”

Lexa nodded slowly and moved to their bed, laying on her stomach. She rested her head on her crossed arms, waiting for Clarke to patch her up.

“What happened?” Clarke asked, moving to the bed. She picked up her emergency medical kit that was tucked in with her books on the way. She sat down next to Lexa. The first thing she did was wet some cloth to wipe the blood away.

“He shot at me, but missed. Then I attacked while he was reloading,” Lexa winced when Clarke put too much pressure on it. “As I was disarming him, he used a knife to fight back.”

Clarke was starting to see that the wound was in fact caused by a blade. It was a gorge in Lexa's skin that continued to bleed after Clarke wiped the blood away. “I'm going to have to sew this up.”

“Okay,” Lexa laid her head to the side.

“I wish you would have told me you were going,” Clarke opened the medical box and pulled out what she would need to get Lexa up and running again.

Lexa waited a moment before answering, “What would you have done, had I told you?”

“Tried to stop you,” the blonde answered as she started to sew up the skin just below Lexa's shoulder blade.

Lexa smiled softly, “That is why I did not tell you.”

Clarke sighed. She saw Lexa flinch when the needle pierced her skin, but she continued on, rhythmically sewing so that Lexa could prepare herself for each stitch. “I just...I thought I lost you once.” She tied off the stitches, having mastered the art from sewing up hundreds of wounds. “Then I got scared when Octavia told me that you left. You left alone when an entire army is actively trying to kill you.”

“They are trying to kill you as well,” Lexa's smile faded to a look of intense conviction, “That is why I left.”

Clarke placed a hand on the small of Lexa's back, feeling her skin and the scars that had made her into the person that she was. It was different when Lexa was doing it for her. “You can't keep risking your life to save me. You've done it so much already.”

“Yours is a life worth saving, Clarke,” Lexa confessed, not moving from her place on a bed, “As many times as it takes.”

The blonde closed her eyes and looked down. Lexa's unwavering devotion to keeping her safe wasn't something that she had ever gotten from anyone before. She softly stroked the skin under her hand. When she opened her eyes, she moved Lexa's hair to one side and kissed the curve of Lexa's shoulder. She softly nuzzled against Lexa's neck and sighed softly, “Please don't get yourself killed.”

“I'll do my best,” Lexa smiled softly. She turned her head to the side and kissed Clarke's cheek, “It is easy to fight to come home when I have such a strong and beautiful person to come home to.”

Clarke smiled and pulled away from Lexa, “If I told anyone how sweet you are-”

“You better not,” Lexa threatened with a playful smile.

Clarke got up from the bed and sorted through her clothes. She found a button down shirt and tossed it to Lexa, “I wouldn't dream of it. I like having that part of you all to myself.”

Lexa slid her arms into the shirt and then buttoned it. She stood, walked to the window, and looked out. “We have a meeting in a few hours. What would you like to do?”

“If we've got some of their snipers,” Clarke moved to the table and sat down on it, “They're probably less likely to see us coming.”

“We should attack tonight,” Lexa moved away from the window and opened the door. She found that a guard was standing outside with her armor. She took it from him and walked inside with it, placing it on the bed.

Clarke looked at the armor, “Can I borrow some of that?”

Lexa's eyes shot to Clarke. She swallowed knowing that in her heart of hearts she knew that she did not want Clarke anywhere near the fighting. However, she knew that keeping Clarke away would be futile. Making sure that she was as protected as possible was the only thing Lexa could do. She moved to the door and called a guard, sending him back to her armory to retrieve more armor.

When she closed the door, Lexa stood in front of it. She looked at Clarke and held her eyes for a moment, “Will you paint my face for battle?”

Clarke nodded. She moved to her paints and picked up her brush. Lexa sat on the table and Clarke stood between her legs, painting Lexa's war paint. When she was done, they switched places. Lexa carefully painted on Clarke's face a design similar to hers, but in a way that made Clarke's design her own.

When she was done, she put her hands on the table on either side of Clarke. She kissed Clarke without warning. Clarke immediately reacted, putting her hands on the back of Lexa's neck, pulling her in deeper.

A knock on the door interrupted them. Clarke stole one last kiss before letting Lexa answer the door. The armor for Clarke had arrived. They helped each other get dressed. When they were done, the sun was touching the horizon about to sink down.

Lexa looked Clarke over. She looked down at herself and unbuckled a knife that she kept strapped to her thigh. She knelt down in front of Clarke and strapped it to her thigh. Once she was done, she stood, “Are you ready?”

Clarke nodded once. She wasn't sure if she was actually ready or if she ever would be, but she was ready to stand next to Lexa as they fought to take down Mount Weather. She offered her hand to Lexa who took it, their fingers threading together. They walked out of their house warriors, ready to lead their people into battle.

 


End file.
